Colorado Meets with Other State Authorities in First Joint Meeting to Identify Common Areas of Interest.

DENVER -- The Governor's Energy Office joined several state counterparts at a meeting hosted by the South Dakota Energy Infrastructure Authority in Rapid City, South Dakota, on June 13, 2007. This was the first joint meeting of these new entities created to facilitate development of energy infrastructure in their respective states.

Other participants included the Kansas Electric Transmission Authority, the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority, the North Dakota Transmission Authority, and the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority. The Wyoming Authority is the oldest in the nation, created in 2004. The Colorado and New Mexico authorities were created by their respective legislatures in 2007. The Colorado Clean Energy Development Authority, which was enacted into law by House Bill 1150, can issue loans and grants to increase the production and consumption of clean energy resources.

This first meeting provided a forum for exploration of common challenges and interests. Tom Plant, director of the (Colorado) Governor's Energy Office, said, "Colorado wants to work with its neighbors to improve our transmission capacity, which is a crucial component to our energy future. For example, renewable energy sources tend to be in rural areas that often lack transmission lines. We need to identify these areas and build transmission access so this clean power can be delivered to populations in our state and beyond."

During the talks at this meeting, the groups were able to identify regional opportunities to work to expedite transmission line construction and encourage the development of renewable and conventional energy sources. The group also identified multi-state transmission projects that will require joint examination and discussion. The next joint meeting is tentatively scheduled for early December in Santa Fe, New Mexico.